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“Barclays Center is a crossroads for Brooklyn, and honoring the Black Fives is a great way to bring sports, Brooklyn’s history, and our community together in a meaningful way.”
-- Bruce Ratner, Barclays Center developer and majority owner, 2013
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HI, Claude..and thanks for stopping by my site.
I’m a huge basketball fan (Go, Lakers!) but we probably won’t see eye to eye on much else…except I’m not big on pedophilia, either !!(What a situation with your doctor!)
I am REAL not happy with Obama’s election because I’m a Conservative, but I’m REALLY proud that America elected a Black President..no doubt about it. Even shed a tear, I must admit, on which I blogged and for which I got a little static from fellow conservatives who thought that, suddenly, I’d lost my mind and was supporting someone with his platform, which I DO NOT. But, boy, was I touched the night of his nomination at the DNC and saw young kids with tears running down their cheeks. Beautiful!
Have a good time at the inauguration. I’ll be doing all I can not to watch and pretend we didn’t elect someone with his plans for America. Plus, I hated it when he gave the finger to HIllary and then McCain in two separate speeches on video…Google it. Sad. I’m too traditional for that stuff!!
But….this is America and he’s my president, too, and I wish him success!
All the best to you, too!
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You kidding…..just like I once told Bobby Plump, who was featured in the movie Hoosiers…making the last shot. “Plump’s Last Shot”, his bar in Indianapolis is pretty active…with the drunks. Anyway, Obama, would be looking up at the ceiling with his back on the floor…meaning, no way is he getting a shot off from Old School …me !!!
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in a word….. NO! i respect and honor this man, but i would annihilate mr. president in this country’s new national past time. However he is quite the ball player for a 47 year old politician. I like his game he plays the correct way.
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Of Course I could beat him!
He smokes!
HEY CLAUDE: With him being the Baller-in-chief (Or Baller-In-Charge), Do you think you can get some of these “Black Fives” to meet with him and yourself? Last time you and I spoke there were still 2 (I think) left. That would be incredible!
I think Obama thinks like you and me. It is so important for many people to hear the “Black Fives” story. It is truly American.
Keep It Up.
Wolvereine
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He being the President, i would ‘let him win’ regardless of whether or not i could actually beat him in the game. I would like to be invited back to the White House again.
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i would love to play against president-elect one on one or his team against our team/it would be a honor to see how it plays out bear this in mind we are older so he may give us some leeway-of course he will have to supply a couple six packs this is something to have one of us to run our country at last–i love it.god bless all of us.
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Mike Carters’ got it right, ya gotta give the Balla’ in Chief just enuff heat ….. but not so much that lose your “hang out card” and I’m sure he would have a premium “brewski” or two for the fives that brings just the right kind of run.
On another note, it is interesting that hoop dreams form a connective tissue that cuts across race, class culture, and nation making this President far more present than any before.
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In a word “NO.” No way he wins, I’d be upset if it was close!
…and in response to those who would “let him win”…a true baller wants the best game you have! If he believes in his skills he’d invite you back for the “get back” game.
‘nuf said
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LOL, I love basketball, love basketball history. . . but haven’t the glue how to play!!
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Yup! He sure could beat me. I can’t play a lick. But I’d give him a challenge in Volleyball! LOL
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With all do respect, I think I could beat the “baller-in-chief” one on one.
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Thanks for your response…I appreciate it a lot.
I just don’t call it ‘progress’ for us to be going to redistribution of wealth no matter HOW much the “tide of humanity” wants to go. Most of the “tide” is here illegally and living off of us and that’s just plain wrong. I welcome them as legals, no doubt about it (i’m first and second generation myself!) but not THIS way. And my people NEVER EVER took a free dime, nor did grandpa need bilingual education through which to learn English in 3 months, which he did.
We’ve lost respect in our country because we have a media that belittle and besmirches so much of what fully HALF of Americans feel, ‘tide of humanity’ or not.
I do not at all mind your suggestion that there be no parties….not a bad idea at ALL, but these parties do sort of set platforms from which we can decide better what we like or don’t like before voting.
I just don’t like obama…pure and simple. I WANTED To, but that giving the finger, and the associations, the liberation theology, Ayers…just TOO Much to think he’s honest, good, or means to uphold the constitution. Heck, he’s even already talked about the litmus test he’s going to set for the Supreme Court appointments! Remember when Republicans dared say anything about what they’d like in a judge and the Left senators in the hearings went BALLISTIC “You can’t have a litmus test…they MUST go by the constitution!” Those were the days, huh? well, we’re veeering off basketball…sorry to get so heavy on everybody.
I’d love to discuss the Lakers!!! I miss Karl Malone….but, he’s a name from the past now.. more’s the pity. He was a BIG favorite, but I”m old enough to remember Wilt the Stilt, Gail Goodrich, etc (I wasn’t too aware of what was going on at that young age, but Dad was such a fan he’d belistening to the game and correct Chick Hearn “that wasn’t his 22nd point, it was his 24th” and Chick would say “Sorry, that was his 24th point, not 22nd” Dad was GOOOOOD!) You can’t beat Kobe, that’s for SURE. Go, LAKERS!
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Hey Z! Welcome to The Black Fives Blog! :-)
I’m not that interested in whether or not you are a Conservative or a Republican or a Democrat or a Liberal … what matters most is that you appreciate that we (all of us) are entering an era of more enlightened thinking than ever before. We’re going to end up there (in a more enlightened world) even if some of us go kicking and screaming.
I think you can see that it’s inevitable, from whichever angle anyone could wish to choose. I believe that people who don’t yet see that are either 1) delusional, 2) in denial, 3) not ready yet, 4) not yet exposed to these “new” ways of thinking, or 5) too stuck.
I place my own father in the variety of people who are “too stuck” because his generation was so hurt by the psyche-crushing assassinations of the 1960s that for him to believe that the promise of Obama will ever amount to anything is too far for him to go emotionally — he can’t do it. Others in that boat are people who simply can’t think big enough. Maybe those are the so-called “regionalized-Republicans” that appeared in the famous blue map not long ago.
So, I am very careful about NOT labeling people or platforms as Conservative or Liberal or Democratic or Republican (you can search my blog high and low and hardly find any evidence of this, if any).
That’s not because I want to remain politically correct. No, it’s because I don’t care what people call the things they choose to label. Why reject something just because it came out of the mouth of a Democrat or a Republican? That doesn’t make sense. When you ask a cop on the street for directions, do you care what’s his or her political party?
We have to grow up. We have to look at being more honest with ourselves. Only then will we be able to identify the truth more easily without relying on what someone else thinks, or what party said it.
I actually think that political parties are a silly idea. Why not just elect the best leader?
Meanwhile, if you take things in this context, you will soon realize that it’s not even really about Obama. And, it’s definitely NOT about “his plans for America.” It’s much more about where the tide of humanity wants to go. We’re going to go there whether it’s with him or someone else, independent of politics.
This is inevitable as a part of the march of human progress. What do I mean? People want joy vs. fear. Abundance vs. starvation. Wellness vs. disease. And so on.
Sometimes, we have to go through a period of contrast in order to see what we really want more clearly. We’ve had the beginnings of that thanks to Mr. Bush and his administration. We lost faith in the government. But that wasn’t the first ages-old institution to show signs of crumbling. Others have too, because they were set up under a false premise or arbitrarily or unfairly. Look at Enron, Worldcomm, etc. for examples of how we lost faith in the institution known as corporate America. We lost faith in religious organizations (but not spirituality) when the Catholic church practically self-destructed faced with its own sordid realities. We’ve lost faith in healthcare. In education. now in Wall Street. Racism as an institution is next. It’s a big business and a lot of people counted on it for years and years. But no longer. That ruse was exposed.
So now what? People will have to re-think the way they were thinking. They’ll have to do it either way, whether kicking and screaming, or not. :-)
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Hey Z, thanks. It sounds to me as if you are, well, stuck on what “other”people have said, rather than on being open to what your own eyes see.
For example, did you actually “see” Obama giving the finger to anyone? Please send me evidence, because I think that would be really funny to see. Did anyone dare to ask Obama if he gave someone the finger? Or was his middle finger just caught on camera in such a way that it seemed like that’s what he was doing. Sorry, but that’s a little bit like saying that John McCain wanted to grab Barack Obama’s ass, judging from that very awkward photo of him with his tongue sticking out farther than Michael Jordan’s. See what I mean?
Also, I think you may not see the bigger picture. The political points you make seem out-dated. I’ll just leave it at that, but wish to say that by not thinking big enough, you may be missing the point in the same way that those who were busy criticizing and debating which horse-buggy wheels were better missed the point as the age of automobiles was dawning.
That’s what I mean by the tide of humanity. The tide of human progress always leaves behind old thinking. If you were a book calligrapher in the Middle Ages it didn’t matter how passionately you argued about which ink or pen to use. You were soon out of business, dude, because of Gutenberg. I’m sure there were many people very angry about Gutenberg. But, oh well. Human progress.
So in terms of human progress we’ve gone from the primitive age to the agricultural age to the industrial age to the information age. The next age is the age of wisdom.
I don’t have to tell you this, but wisdom is not how much you know. It’s how well you use what you know. This is directly opposite to creating a world based on fears. Anger derives from fear. Confidence, or the lack of it, derives from fear.
Just to address another one of your points, for example, I think it’s been widely reported and disputed that Obama never said he wanted to “redistribute wealth” in the sense that you mean it here, that is, as in socialism. The fact is that we already redistribute wealth, through taxes and through charity, even around the world. We give billions to other governments, don’t we? We spend billions on research to find cures for other people besides us. right?
In terms of your own fears about Obama, again, I would suggest it’s not about Obama. Rather than worrying about whether Obama will do it, what you ought to be concerned about is whether the American people will uphold the Constitution. Will you, sir, uphold the Constitution? Will the people in your circle uphold the Constitution? Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God? If so then you have nothing to worry about.
May I ask, what you love to do? Whatever that is, do you love it? If you love it, do you love it enough to be true to it? Are you being true to it? If so, then you’re being true to yourself. If you’re being true to yourself then you will be easily able to identify the truth that surrounds you when you see it. The reason why so many people are confused is that so many people are not honest enough with themselves. Some simply don’t know how. But if you do know unequivocally how to identify the truth, then you need not rely on the opinions of others. Try turning off the television and the radio for 2 weeks. Your opinions will clarify. I guarantee it.
By the way Gail Goodrich lives in Greenwich, Ct., where I am. Now that Andrew Bynum is back I think most people would agree that the Lakers look very, very good to win the NBA Championship. But, in sports, polls don’t matter. Only performance. And, it’s a long season. So, we’ll see. Portland might have something to say about it, in the West. But I doubt it. And in the East, Boston will likely repeat but will have to get past Cleveland or hope Detroit draws Cleveland.
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